The way we perceive things depends on our perspective. For instance, if someone believes that donuts are unhealthy, then that perspective will color the way they perceive donut shops. They will be more likely to view them with disdain. On the other hand, if a person thinks of donuts as a delightful treat, they will probably be seen smiling broadly when a new shop opens in the neighborhood.
Now, I don’t mean to trivialize the point, but the opening five verses of John chapter 9 demonstrate this principle in a profound way.
The chapter opens with Jesus on the move after escaping an attempt on his life and tells us he saw a man who’d been blind from birth. That word, saw, means more than just the casual result of human eyesight. It’s translated from a word meaning, to know by perception. And the following passage reveals that Jesus perceived him differently than the disciples did because he viewed him from a different perspective.
They viewed him from a punishment perspective. They believed the bad things people experience in life are the consequences of the wrong they’ve personally done. So, they assumed the man’s blindness was the result of some specific sin, and they asked Jesus to explain who was at fault, the man or his parents.
The Lord’s answer in verse 3 must have surprised them. He said that neither the man nor his parents had sinned. But he wasn’t saying they weren’t sinners. He was trying to explain that the brokenness in the world is caused by every one of us. We’re all sinners and are all responsible for the horrors we’ve unleashed.
He wasn’t excusing anybody for their sin or it’s fruit, but he was introducing a better perspective. Focusing on cause and effect results in seeing ourselves and others through the lens of blame, judgment, guilt, and fear. Instead of perceiving the man’s blindness as punishment, Jesus was introducing a change in perspective that would allow them to view it as an opportunity for the works of God to be revealed.
If we all experienced that dramatic change, it would result in a different way of responding to need. If our default response was to see it as an opportunity to invite God to show up instead of looking for fault, we would experience more of his power breaking through in our challenging circumstances. And that’s what the rest of John 9 describes – the miraculous healing and salvation of a man who had been blind his whole life.
In verses 4 and 5 the Lord said the light of his presence transforms each day into a time for displays of the works of God. And although he also said a time of darkness would come – clearly referring to his crucifixion – he didn’t mean the time of his power-working would end. The resurrection resulted in the dawning of a whole new day of the miraculous.
So, instead of looking for fault today, let’s welcome the Lord to change our perspective that we might perceive the needs around us as opportunities for the works of God to be revealed.